NOT QUITE

Tuesday morning’s headlines were dominated by news that Turkish forces shot down a Russian fighter jet operating near Turkey’s border with Syria. The incident further strains the already tense web of priorities and interests underpinning Russia and NATO’s fight against ISIS—a fight that largely takes place in Syria’s skies.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkish officials both confirmed that Turkey shot down the Russian fighter jet, a Sukhoi Su-24, and Putin warned that Turkey’s actions would have “serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.” As the news exploded across social media, it was predictably hyped to the highest possible level: World War III.

Tweets bearing the hashtags #WorldWarIII and #WorldWar3 were posted by the thousands. VF.com charted the topic’s rise via Topsy, a Twitter-analytics service:

The use of #WorldWarIII was significantly higher than it had been in the past month, but Twitter users posted more #WorldWar3 tweets after the October 30 terrorist attacks in Paris. Use of #WorldWar3 actually peaked around November 6.

Despite Putin’s stern warning, initial statements from Russian officials suggested a far more measured tone than a willingness to further inflame into a global conflict. “It would be wrong now to give any assessments, assumptions or make any conclusions before we get a full picture,” a Kremlin spokesman said.

A hashtag that isn’t fully reflective of the state of global affairs. Who knew!